Vehicle cushion

ABSTRACT

A cushion for location on a vehicle seat to provide an elevated seating surface for a child, and having upstanding side walls. A recess is formed in the front edge of each side wall for receiving part of the normal vehicle seat safety belt, and that recess is increased in depth downwardly at a location spaced from the front edge of the side wall so as to resist separation of the belt from the cushion. The effective height of the cushion can be increased by locating a temporary elevating platform beneath the cushion or over its upper surface. The body of the cushion comprises a metal frame, a core of resilient material moulded around that frame, and an outer skin covering the core.

This invention relates to means for supporting a child on a vehicle seatwhile under the restraint of a safety belt or harness.

Normal adult safety belts of the lap-sash type cannot be convenientlyused to restrain a child located on a vehicle seat because the sash willnot cross the child's body at a comfortable or safe location. It is anobject of the present invention to overcome or alleviate that difficultyby providing a cushion which can be placed on a vehicle seat to supporta child. The depth of the cushion is such that a child supported thereonis better positioned for retention by an adult sash strap. If desired,the cushion may be arranged so that the depth can be varied to suitcircumstances.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cushion forlocation on a vehicle seat and having, an upper surface for seatingengagement by an occupant of the vehicle, and a recess at or adjacenteach of two opposite sides of said cushion for receiving a respectivepart of a safety belt or harness so as to restrain said cushion againstmovement off said vehicle seat.

The essential features of the invention, and further optional features,are described in detail in the following passages of the specificationwhich refer to the accompanying drawings. The drawings however, aremerely illustrative of how the invention might be put into effect, sothat the specific form and arrangement of the features (whether they beessential or optional features) shown is not to be understood aslimiting on the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention shownlocated on a vehicle seat;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cushion shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the cushion shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cushion of FIG. 1 shown in associationwith a booster section;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a metal frame for use in one form ofcushion construction;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 and showing apreferred type of construction incorporating the metal frame of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the cushion shown in FIG. 10.

In the particular construction shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface 2 ofthe cushion base 3, is contoured to provide a comfortable seatingsurface for the occupant. An upstanding side wall 4 is provided at eachof two opposite sides of the cushion base 3 and each wall 4 extends fromthe rear edge 5 of the cushion base 3 to adjacent the front edge 6. Itis generally not necessary or desirable to provide a rear wall for thecushion, although in the construction shown, there is a slight upturn 7at the rear of the base 3 which arises out of the contouring of surface2 (see FIG. 3).

A recess or slot 8 is formed through the front edge 9 of each wall 4 andextends rearwardly, but terminates before the rear edge 11 of the wall4. As seen in FIG. 1, each slot 8 is adapted to receive a respectivepart of a lap strap 12 of a safety belt, and one of the slots 8 alsoreceives part of a sash strap 13. The depth of the rear end portion 14of each slot 8 is increased downwardly to create a forwardly facingshoulder 15 which resists removal of the straps 12 from the slots 8. Itwill be appreciated that the slots 8 will function equally well withsafety harnesses and other forms of belts restraints different to thatparticularly shown in FIG. 1. For example, a child's safety harness maybe used in association with a conventional lap strap.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 has the further advantage that thesafety belt buckle 16 is located outside the cushion, and the adjacentside wall 4 protects that buckle 16 against inadvertent release by achild seated on the cushion. There are several other advantages of thearrangement, the basic one being that a child seated on the cushion islocated at a more comfortable level for viewing the surroundings. Moreimportant however, is the fact that in the resulting elevated position,the sash strap 13 crosses the child's body at a comfortable andrelatively safe position. In that regard, the geometry of the sash strap13 is advantageously influenced by the overhang 17 of the side wall 4adjacent the buckle 16. A further consequence of the arrangement shown,is that the lap strap 12 is located, by the slots 8, so as to passacross the thighs of the child, whereas it would pass across soft tissueareas of the child if not so restrained. As a result, there is lesslikelihood of injury to the child in the event of sudden deceleration ofthe vehicle. Still further, in the event of such deceleration, thecushion will tend to pivot about the lap strap 12 such that the frontedge 6 of the base 3 is urged upwards, and that increases the retentioneffect of the strap 12 on both the cushion and the child occupant.

A cushion as described can be formed of any suitable material, orcombination of materials. In a preferred method of manufacture however,the cushion is formed by first producing an outer skin or covering whichis flexible but has sufficient strength to retain its shape when filledwith a core material. That outer skin or covering preferably forms theentire outer surface of the cushion apart from an opening through whichthe core material may be introduced, and may be formed by rotationalmoulding of a suitable material such as polyvinylchlorine while curingthe material in an oven to set it in the moulded shape. A metal frame 23as shown in FIG. 9 is then positioned within the skin or covering 24 soas to be located as shown in FIG. 10. Any suitable means may be employedto retain the frame 23 and skin or covering 24 in the correctrelationship. The hollow interior of the skin or covering 24 is thenfilled with a suitable resilient core material 25 such as polyurethane,which may be introduced in liquid form through the opening 26 of theskin or covering 24 and then activated to foam or expand to fill theavailable space. In that way the skin or covering 24 is retained in thedesired shape and the frame 23 is secured against relative movement. Astrong, serviceable, and lightweight construction results.

The completed cushion is shown in FIG. 11, and preferably has a shallowrecess 27 in the outer surface of each side wall 4 and which extendsdownwardly and rearwardly from the respective slot portion 14. Therecess 27 is designed to at least partially accommodate the buckle of anadult safety belt and thereby reduce possible contact of that belt witha child occupant of the cushion. It also contributes towards obtaining asuitable geometry for the safety belt.

It may be desirable to provide means whereby the effective (seating)height of the cushion can be varied to suit different requirements. Thatis, the desirable degree of elevation will vary according to the age ofthe child who is to use the cushion. One such means is shown in FIG. 6,and involves the use of a booster section 18 which is locatable beneaththe undersurface 19 of the cushion base 3 so as to elevate the height ofthe seating surface 2. Two or more booster sections 18 may be used ifrequired. The cushion base 3 and booster section 18 may be restrainedagainst separation in many different ways. In the FIG. 6 arrangement,that is achieved by a spigot portion 21 on the upper side of the boostersection 18 and which is adapted to locate within a substantiallycomplementary recess 22 formed in the undersurface 19 of the base 3.Obviously, the relative positions of the spigot portion 21 and recess 22can be reversed. If two or more booster sections 18 are to be used incombination, each may be provided with a recess within its lower side,which is comparable with the recess 22 of the cushion base 3.

The basic concept of the invention can be adopted in various forms. FIG.7, for example, shows an embodiment alternative to that of FIGS. 1 to 6,and items of that embodiment comparable with items of the FIGS. 1 to 6embodiments are given a like reference numeral except that they are inthe series 100 to 199.

In the FIG. 7 construction, the cushion is recessed or otherwisecontoured at its upper surface 102 to comfortably accommodate a child,and means is provided at each of two opposite sides for releasablyattaching the lap strap (not shown) of an adult safety belt. In theexample shown, each such means comprises a T-shaped slot 108 extendingbetween the upper and lower surfaces of the cushion. It is to beunderstood however, that the cushion could be held to a vehicle seat byway of a special strap provided for that purpose rather than by an adultlap strap, and the same attaching means can be used in either case.Furthermore, the cushion can be used with an adult safety belt which hasits sash strap geometry modified in the manner described in Australianpatent application No. 14430/76.

A cushion according to the invention may be used in combination with anauxiliary unit which provides both the backrest and sides for a completechild's safety seat. That is, a complete safety seat results from thecombination of the cushion and such a unit, and that safety seat can bereleasably secured to a vehicle seat in any appropriate manner. Forexample, the top of the unit backrest can be attached to the vehicleparcel shelf through means such as described in either of Australianpatent applications Nos. 19075/76 and 19080/76.

The cushion and auxiliary unit combination can be used with very youngchildren (e.g. 6-24 months) and the cushion alone can be used with olderchildren (e.g. 2-11 years).

As in the previously described embodiment, the cushion of FIG. 7 may beof fixed or adjustable depth--i.e., the effective distance between itsupper and lower surfaces. That adjustment could be achieved in a mannersimilar to that shown in FIG. 6, but other arrangements are clearlyavailable.

Yet another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 8, and that isa particular form of adjustable cushion in which a base member 203 isarranged to removably receive a cushion section 218, or a plurality ofsuch sections 218 located one above the other. Thus, the effectivecushion depth can be varied by removal or addition of the cushionsections 218, and in the minimum depth condition the base 203 alone maybe used if it is sufficiently resilient at its upper surface forcomfortable seating.

The base member 203, in the construction shown, includes a platform part200 and upstanding side walls 204 at each of two opposite sides of theplatform part 200. Cushion portions 218 can be located in overlyingrelationship on the platform part 200 and between the side walls 204,and any suitable means can be provided to releasably retain one or moreof the portions 218 in that position. As shown, that means may includean inwardly projecting lip 231 at the upper edge of each side wall 204,which serves to resist removal of a cushion section 218 through the topof the base member 203. An upright abutment shoulder 232 is provided atthe forward edge portion of each side wall 204 for engagement by thefront edge of each cushion section 218, so that removal and replacementof cushion sections 218 must be effected through the back of the basemember 203, which in use is located against the backrest of the vehicleseat.

Instead of using overlying cushion sections 218 to vary the effectivedepth, the base member 203 may be adapted to receive either one of aplurality of sections, each of which has a different depth. In thatalternative arrangement, the total effective depth of the cushion isvaried by substitution rather than by addition or removal of cushionsections.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present inventionprovides an improved means for supporting a child safely on a vehicleseat. The cushion enables a child to be supported at a height such as topermit a view through the vehicle window, and the relatively large areaof engagement between the cushion and vehicle seat tends to guardagainst slipping on the vehicle seat. Furthermore, the cushion permitsoptimum use of existing adult safety belts.

Finally it is to be understood that various alterations, modificationsand/or additions may be introduced into the constructions andarrangements of parts previously described without departing from thespirit or ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:
 1. A cushion used in combination with avehicle seat provided with a combination lap and sash safety belt, saidcushion comprising a base having an upper seating surface, two wallportions on respective opposite sides of said base and projecting abovesaid seating surface so as to form arm rests, and means in each saidwall portion for holding the lap portion of said safety belt forward ofand above its normal position on the vehicle seat and cooperating withsaid lap portion to hold the cushion on the vehicle seat, the said meansof one said wall portion also being operative to hold a lower part ofthe sash portion of said safety belt down and forward relative to theback of the vehicle seat to accommodate therebetween an occupant of thecushion, said means comprising a slot in the respective said wallportion which has its open mouth facing towards the front of saidcushion and which extends rearwardly from that open mouth to terminateat a closed end, said lap portion being receivable in both said slotsand said sash portion being receivable in one said slot only.
 2. Thecombination according to claim 1, wherein said upper seating surface ofsaid cushion is recessed to provide a contoured seating surface.
 3. Thecombination according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the upperand lower edges of each said slot in said cushion is increased at a rearend portion of the slot, and that increase is in a direction downwardstowards the undersurface of said cushion.
 4. The combination accordingto claim 1, wherein said cushion further comprises at least oneremovable section which is locatable beneath the undersurface of saidcushion to elevate said upper surface thereof to thereby vary the heightof said cushion, said undersurface being provided with a recess toreceive a spigot portion of said removable section.
 5. The combinationaccording to claim 1, wherein the body of said cushion comprises anouter covering, a core which fills the hollow interior of said coveringand is formed of a resilient material, and a metal frame also containedwithin said covering and around which said core material is moulded. 6.The combination according to claim 1, wherein said cushion basecomprises the sole means interconnecting said wall portions and anopening separates said wall portions at the back of said cushion.
 7. Amethod of forming a cushion, including the steps of: rotary moulding anouter covering of the desired configuration, heat curing the outercovering during the moulding step, locating a metal frame within thehollow interior of the moulded covering, and filling the hollow interiorof the covering with an expanded resilient material so that the metalframe is surrounded by that material.